In the heart of Golden Gate Park is a smoothly paved oval where roller skaters do their thing. Those of us who’ve lamented the loss of San Francisco’s free spirit in recent years can take heart in the survival of this vital and quintessential scene.

We have to reinvent education because it’s not working for too many of our kids – who are either dropping out of high school because they aren’t engaged, or not getting the skills they need, or paying a fortune for college and ending up with crushing student debt. How do we get there?

With the presidential field already getting crowded, it’s never too early to look at the ever increasing role of money in politics. Here are the best stories we’ve come across over the past few months.